Face shield suggestion over eyeglasses

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Sammy-2016

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
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53
Location
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Hello All,
So as soon as I started practicing turning I realized how much dust and chips that produces :)
I were eyeglasses and I have been searching for a full protective breathable shield that would work over my glasses.
So far I have been using a 3M half face mask with 2097 P100 filters and I put a cheap plastic shield from box stores over it.
For those who wear glasses, what do you use?
I am looking in price range of $20 to $50 for now.
Thank you very much
Sammy
 
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I wear glasses, but I don't use a face shield when I'm turning pens. My glasses have safety rated lenses, so that's some level of protection. I also use a lighted magnifier while I'm turning anything. That gives another layer of protection and serves as a face shield. I do use an inexpensive face shield when I'm turning anything larger than pens as a third layer of protection.

Probably not OSHA approved, but it's what I do.
 
When I started out, I purchased a full face shield similar to a welder's helmut. It was claustrophobic and very hard to clean. I did what Edgar did using safety glasses and a lighted magnifying glass. That last item radically changed my turning technique.
 
I have had cataract surgery and have an interocular implant to correct distance vision. I have also had a detached retina that caused me to lose vision in one eye, so I am especially careful to protect my good eye.

So I wear polycarbonite bifocal safety glasses - the upper portion has no correction, while the correction in the lower portion matches the prescription of my reading glasses. I have a pair in the shop, and another pair in the garage that I wear whenever I'm using the lawnmower or leaf blower outside. Found them on Amazon - not very expensive.

And I also wear a full face shield over the glasses when I'm turning. I am currently using a Harbor Freight face shield - the rigid version and not the cheap, floppy shield. I use the face shield whenever I'm roughing out a blank, or turning at high speed, but I will take it off when I'm doing detailed work since a face shield tends to collect dust and become scratched over time, resulting in less than fully clear visibility.

I don't wear breathing protection for routine turning. I don't worry about chips, but I am concerned about sanding dust - I have a fan mounted overhead that blows down and away to reduce the amount of dust that gets thrown in my direction. And if I'm doing heavy-duty sanding, I will wear a dust mask.
 
I usually wear glasses, but when in the workshop I switch to contact lenses. I turn mainly on weekends so it doesn't come out expensive, even when using the single day disposable ones. You can also buy the washable multi use contact lenses if you turn daily.
 
I haven't really had to use it much yet but I got a Uvex Faceshield that has agood range of adjustability so it is actually comfortable. I got it to keep the dust out of my face when buffing so haven't used it much since I'm still figuring out the lathe.
 
I have a full face mask plus graduated bifocals. The face mask not only protects the eyes but the face and throat. I don't turn without it.
 

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You are going to laugh but I wear a Lacrosse Helmet with full face grid while turning bowls and other large objects. I had a small incident about 15 years ago that led me down this path. Good news is I got some new teeth!!!
 
I have a Uvex face shield that I use that's fog free. It has enough space for me to wear my glasses and a 3M half face mask. It flips up when I want to do that too. Pretty adjustable and comfortable. I got it from Amazon because my local big box store was out when I needed it.
 
I spent 30 years in the safety business - military (flight, ground, and weapons) and civilian (OSHA, EPA). None of the OSHA rules and regulations apply in your home shop. They are a good place to go for guidance, however.

Almost every safety standard I've ever read starts with "Assess the hazard". After that, pick the appropriate level of PPE that will protect you from the identified hazard and make sure you wear it every time.

When turning pens, I have assessed that the hazard is dust and small particles. I wear my prescription safety glasses and rarely wear a face shield unless the blank looks like it may come apart and throw small chunks.

When turning small bowls, spindles, and such, I add a face shield over my prescription safety glasses because I have assessed the hazards are dust, small chips, and perhaps medium chips. I wear both because 1) I need to see what I'm doing, and 2) glasses protect your eyes and a face shield protects your face. OSHA says they are both to be worn if the hazards are present. I have a nice UVEX Bionic face shield that works nicely.

When I'm turning big bowls or any wood that looks like it may thrown chunks. I wear a police riot helmet with a steel cage and a lexan shield.

Several years ago, Lynn Yamaguchi had a bowl blank come apart explosively and she wasn't wearing her face shield. She wrote and excellent article for the AAW Journal about her experience and what it would have taken to protect her. She even ran the math on the force generated by the chunk that hit her and the protection her face shield would have provided. It probably would not have even slowed the chunk down. Shortly after that a friend of mine had a bowl blank come apart and now most of his face is titanium.

Face shields are not hard hats, they are not designed to protect you from a bowl blank coming apart explosively. Air purifying respirators are great face shields but again not protection against chunks. Lynn Yamaguchi was the source of my decision to buy a riot helmet. My friend is using a hockey mask with cage and lexan shield, too.

You are the one who is tasked with assessing the hazard in your shop and obtaining and wearing the proper PPE. I'm not saying this is what you should do, I'm just relaying what I have decided to do based on my own hazard assessment.

Steve
 
randyrls said:
Sammy; I use the Bionix face shield and 3m mask when turning anything larger than a pen. When turning a pen I have a guard / dust collector / lexan shield shown below. It gets all the chips, sanding dust and superglue fumes from my turning. I get no dust in the shop and never sniff super glue fumes.
https://www.penturners.org/media/pen-hood-and-shield-with-dust-collection.16641/
Click to expand...
Thank you Randy,
I ordered that same facer shield (I hope). I should get it tomorrow.
Sammy
 
MTViper said:
Almost every safety standard I've ever read starts with "Assess the hazard". After that, pick the appropriate level of PPE that will protect you from the identified hazard and make sure you wear it every time.
Click to expand...
That strikes me as profoundly true, but at the same time, simple common sense.

Some folks may know that Terry Smart, owner of Chestnut Products in the UK, puts out a weekly e-mail newsletter in which he answers question about finishing. In this morning's edition, he mentions conversation he had with a turner who recently had a platter blank blow up on the lathe - there was an area of rot inside the blank that caused the mounting tenon to break. His advice, which also fits into the 'profoundly true, but simple common sense' category, is that if you experience anything that you would not normally expect, such as odd vibration or noise, stop turning immediately and investigate. He concluded "this can happen to even the best turners through no fault of their own, so please, protect yourself. You may never need it, but when you do, you'll be grateful!"
 
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